Words and wine by Amy M. Reade

Tag Archives: Descent

Today on Reade and Write I welcome Kristina M. Stanley back to the hot seat. You may recall her last visit, during which she discussed her book Avalanche (which I’ve read and can highly recommend). You can read that post hereif you’d like. Kristina is here today to talk about her new book, Look the Other Way. Welcome, Kristina!

Tell me about your new book.

LOOK THE OTHER WAY: A year after her Uncle Bobby mysteriously disappears in the turquoise waters surrounding the Bahamas, Shannon Payne joins her grieving aunt to trace his last voyage. Shannon hopes the serenity of the sea might help her recover from a devastating breakup with her fiancé.

Sailing their 38-foot catamaran, A Dog’s Cat, is Captain Jake Hunter, a disillusioned cop who has sworn off women. While Shannon tries to resist her growing attraction to the rugged captain, she uncovers some dark truths about her uncle’s death that might send all three of them to the depths.

Who is the audience for the book?

Look the Other Way is for mystery readers who like to read books with a little adventure and a little romance.

Tell me about the setting of your book—how did you choose it, what kind of research did you have to do, why did you choose it?

I wrote the first draft during the summer of 2012, but long before that my life had already started to influence what I would write. In the fall of 2009, my husband, Mathew, and I started our journey across the Gulf Stream from Florida to the Bahamas. We were aboard our catamaran, Mattina, feeling pretty good about the day…

But no matter how much you plan, the weather can sneak up on you.

We set out from the Florida coast at 11 at night in flat seas, low winds and a perfect weather forecast. Just enough wind to keep our sails up and the boat moving at 6 to 8 knots.

By the next morning, the wind and seas grew. You can see by the foul weather jacket Mathew is wearing that we knew a storm was coming.

Little did I know this day would be research for Look The Other Way. Bigger seas, stronger winds. Too bad I’d put the camera away.

The bilge pump started – which it shouldn’t if the bilge is dry – and my adrenaline rose. Did we have a leak? Were we taking on water? Now, I can’t ruin the surprise, because I used this adventure in one of the scenes inLook The Other Way.

What was the hardest thing about writing the book?

Keeping track of the wind direction and what tack the boat was on.

If your book were made into a movie, who would you like to see playing the main characters?

I’d love to see Jennifer Lawrence play the part of Shannon Payne.

Tell us about your other books.

I’ve written the Stone Mountain Series. DESCENT, BLAZE, and AVALANCHE are the first three in the series. They take place in the depths of the British Columbian Mountains. All three are mysteries. I guess I love to write about places I’ve lived.

Are you in one or more critique groups or partnerships?

I write best when I’m alone. I have beta readers, but I don’t belong to a critique group. I live in the remote mountains of British Columbia, Canada, so there aren’t many writers around. There are a lot of bears, but they don’t help much…

Do you write every day?

I’ve never been a person who writes every day, except when I’m participating in Nanowrimo (for those of you who aren’t familiar with this reference, it’s National Novel Writing Month–November).

What authors do you like best? What genres do you like best?

I read almost exclusively mysteries, but I don’t have a favorite author. I like to read as many different authors as I can. I find a lot of them through my Mystery Monday series where other authors give writing tips and talk about their latest book. If anyone is interested in guest blogging, just let me know. I’m now scheduling for 2018.

Where would you like to go more than anywhere else on earth?

I like to be with my husband anywhere we can be active outside.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Write a lot. It’s like anything else you do. The more you do it, the better you get at it.

Describe yourself in three words.

I’m going to give you a sentence instead of three words: Do the fun bits first!

Is there anything I haven’t asked that you wanted me to?

I’m the co-founder and CEO of Feedback Innovations, a company started to help writers rewrite better fiction. I love the self-editing process and want to help other writers learn how to do a structural edit on their own work.

Today I welcome Kristina Stanley, author of The Stone Mountain mystery series and other books of both fiction and non-fiction. Glad you could stop by, Kristina!

Tell me about your new book.

Avalanche: On a cold winter morning, the safe at Stone Mountain Resort is robbed, and Kalin Thompson’s brother, Roy, suspiciously disappears. As Director of Security, Kalin would normally lead the investigation, but when her brother becomes the prime suspect, she is ordered to stay clear.

The police and the president of the resort turn their sights on Kalin, who risks everything to covertly attempt to clear Roy’s name. As threats against her escalate, she moves closer to uncovering the guilty party. Is Kalin’s faith in her brother justified? Or will the truth destroy her?

Who is the audience for the book?

Avalanche is for mystery readers who like a little it of adventure along with the story.

Tell me about the setting of your book—how did you choose it, what kind of research did you have to do, why did you choose it?

Avalanche takes place in Stone Mountain. A mountain as deadly as it is majestic. I used to be the director of security at a ski resort in the Purcell Mountains. That job was my muse and inspired me to write about life in an isolated mountain resort.

What was the hardest thing about writing the book?

This was the first novel I wrote. After working with a literary agent, we decided together it belonged as the third novel in the Stone Mountain Series, so I rewrote the story to fit later in the series.

If your book were made into a movie, who would you like to see playing the main characters?

This is hard. Kalin Thompson would have to be played thirty-something, fit actor. She’s tender yet tough, and I’d like an actor who can portray those characteristics.

Tell me about your other books.

Descent and Blaze are the first two novels in the Stone Mountain Series. I’ve also written Look The Other Way, a mystery novel that takes place in the Bahamas, and I have just finished receiving feedback from my beta readers. I’ve also written The Author’s Guide to Selling Books To Non-Bookstores, to be released May 28th, by Imajin Books. This is my first non-fiction title.

Are you in one or more critique groups or partnerships?

I have five beta readers. I live in a small community in the Purcell Mountains, and there are no writer groups here. My beta readers all have different skills. One is great on checking character motivations, another on inconsistencies in the story line, another is a fabulous proofreader. I ask all my beta reader to mark in the margin when they think they know who the killer is. I also ask them to tell me when they skim. These are very important areas for a fast paced murder mystery.

Do you write every day?

That depends if you include blogging in this question. If you do, then yes. But I don’t write stories every day.

When you read a book, what authors do you like best? What genres do you like best?

I’ve been to every province in Canada except for Newfoundland. I’d like to go there one day.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Once you’ve finished your first novel, start writing the second one. Publication takes a long time, and it’s great if you have a second book ready after your first one is out. It also keeps you writing instead of waiting to hear back from wherever you’ve submitted your novel to.

What is your favorite movie and why?

I loved watching World War Z. Very scary, but not real. I actually hid under my coffee table during the scary parts. Pretend villains are much more fun to watch than real ones. Alien was also one of my favorites.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

I would tell myself not to throw away anything I wrote. While in my thirties, I wrote the start of a fantasy novel. I also wrote a murder mystery that took place in Aruba. For some reason, I didn’t keep this work. I now wish I had. I’m sure it wasn’t great, but I’d be curious to see what I’d written then. Who knows? Maybe I could have rewritten the stories.

Thanks for asking. Descent and Blaze are for sale on Amazon world-wide. Avalanche will be published by Imajin Books in June. Descent will be published in Germany by Luzifer-Verlag later this year. The Author’s Guide To Selling Books To Non-Bookstores is available for pre-order on Kobo, Amazon, iBooks and Google Play. It will be up shortly and Smashwords.